


Confidence And Carols

by YetAnother



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Babybones (Undertale), Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-19 02:49:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13114401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YetAnother/pseuds/YetAnother
Summary: Today is the day of the big Gyftmas play, but Papyrus doesn't feel too confident in himself. Sans gives him a little advice to help him out.





	Confidence And Carols

**Author's Note:**

> Papyrus is a kid in this, Sans is an adult. Just a little fun idea for where all that confidence Papyrus has came from.

"I DON'T WANNA BE IN THE PLAY!" Papyrus shouts, attempting to pull himself free of Sans's grasp.

"aw c'mon bud, they need you in there. you've got such an important role." Sans says, holding tight and continuing the walk to the little school where Papyrus was enrolled.

"I'M A TREE." Papyrus says, glaring up at his older brother.

"nothin' sets the tone like good scenery." Sans says with a wink. Honestly, he had forgotten Papyrus had landed such a minor role. He thought the kid had at least some lines. He thought he heard his bro practicing a song over the last week.

"THIS IS STUPID. I'M GOING TO DO BAD AND ALL THE KIDS ARE GOING TO MAKE FUN OF ME." Papyrus has gone limp, pulling the old ragdoll routine to slow them down. Sans slows down, but doesn't stop pulling his brother through the snow.

"how can ya do bad? i think you're a great tree. you've been getting so big." Papyrus is almost as tall as Sans now, but Sans isn't sure if the poor kid is going to get much taller. If his own height is any indication, his bro has one or two more inches, tops.

"BECAUSE MY VOICE SOUNDS STUPID, I'M GOING TO RUIN THE WHOLE SONG." Papyrus would be crossing his arms, but Sans is still holding tight to his other hand.

"what song? i thought you were a tree."

"ALL THE KIDS IN THE PLAY HAVE TO SING A CAROL AFTER THE PLAY IS OVER. EVEN THE TREES."

"oh." Sans had no idea that there would be singing involved when he encouraged Papyrus to join the play. He thought his little brother would get a minor role, get some of his confidence up, maybe make a few friends with some of those theatre kids. Still, can't back out now. "well, now everyone can hear your beautiful voice. you don't sound stupid at all, where would you even get that idea?"

"ALL THE OTHER KIDS SAY MY VOICE IS STUPID AND LOUD. THEY SAID I BETTER SHUT UP WHEN THE SONG PART COMES SO I DON'T RUIN IT FOR THEM." There's tears beginning in the corners of Papyrus's eyes.

Sans kneels down and wipes the tears away. "they don't know what they're talking about. you have my favorite voice in the whole underground, and i wanna hear you loud and clear during that song."

"YOU'RE ONLY SAYING THAT BECAUSE I'M YOUR BROTHER!" Papyrus screams, tears falling down his face as he tries to jerk himself away from Sans. "NOBODY LIKES ME EXCEPT YOU!"

Sans shushes his brother and pulls him in for a hug. Papyrus struggles a little, then just sobs limply in Sans's hold. "i know it's hard, paps. i know. making friends and believing in yourself are some of the hardest things to do. people will be mean for the stupidest things, and sometimes it seems like you'll never find somebody who likes you for you, but you can't give up."

"WHY NOT? EVERYBODY WOULD BE HAPPIER IF I DIDN'T SHOW UP."

Sans knows Papyrus only means for the show, but the words echo his thoughts years ago about suicide. He holds Papyrus closer. "no they wouldn't, paps. i wouldn't. would you be happier if you didn't show up?"

"YES."

Sans sighs. "you don't mean that. i know you wanna be a big star. i know you like singing. this is gonna be fun." Sans grabs Papyrus's face and tilts it so they're looking at each other face to face. "you just need to have confidence in yourself."

"HOW DO I GET CONFIDENCE WHEN I'M BAD AT EVERYTHING?"

"you're not... paps... wanna know a little secret?"

The crying slows down, Papyrus perking up a little at the idea of learning a secret. "YES, WHAT?"

"most confidence is fake. a lot of people act like they're confident, even if they're scared, or don't know what to do, or they don't believe in themselves. it's how you gain confidence." It's entirely true. Sans spends most days at the lab thinking 'how the hell do these people trust me with this equipment?', but sure enough he always has a brave face on, pretending like he knows everything.

"HOW DOES FAKING CONFIDENCE GIVE CONFIDENCE?" The tears have stopped, Papyrus too busy focusing on this new information. Sans thanks the distant stars.

"well if you pretend like you have confidence, you'll do the things you need to, and once you've done it you'll realize you were capable of it all along. then next time you have to do something, like sing in a play, you'll know you can do it because you've done it before. boom, confidence."

"AND WHAT IF I MESS IT UP?"

"then you can at least be confident that you did your best. you know, it's not really about whether or not you can do something, it's all about telling yourself that you're great, no matter what. if you tell youself that enough times, eventually you'll believe it, and then the confidence comes easy. it's a lot like happiness."

"HOW IS IT LIKE... HAPPINESS?"

Sans hadn't planned on having a talk about the pressures of society and the difficulty of retaining a positive attitude with Papyrus on the way to school today, but maybe it's best to get it out of the way when he's young. His brother has been having such a hard time making friends, maybe it'll help.

"paps, do you ever see me frown?"

"NO."

"you know why that is?"

"BECAUSE YOUR FACE IS STUCK LIKE THAT?"

Sans chuckles slightly. "yeah, right on the money. i'm always smiling, regardless of whether i'm actually happy or not. a lot of people are like that, even though their faces aren't stuck like mine. guess i got an advantage there."

"I... I DON'T UNDERSTAND..."

"it's important to keep positive, even if you don't feel like it. it's important to smile, even if you don't feel like it. it's important to try to be happy, even-"

"EVEN IF I DON'T FEEL LIKE IT..."

"yup, you're smart as a whip. it's not possible to always be happy, but it is important to always try. if you don't, you'll never see the good side of things. and if you never see the good side of things, you'll never be happy. it's like a cycle, and the only way to break it is to try to be happy. even if it takes a long time to actually be happy."

Papyrus is quiet for a while as they stand there in the snow. Then he starts nodding slowly. "THAT... THAT SOUNDS KIND OF DUMB, BUT I'LL TRY IT ANYWAYS."

"that's the spirit." Sans says as he stands back up and takes Papyrus's hand. "you always gotta do your best, and remember, i always believe in you. you can do anything, paps. anything and everything."

Papyrus smiles as he wipes at his eyes with his free hand, scrubbing away any lingering tears. "THANK YOU, SANS."

"anytime, paps."

 

The play is over. Papyrus did a great job of standing in the background and not saying anything. The photos turned out great with how still Papyrus was. The curtains open back up to reveal all the kids standing in neat and orderly rows. Papyrus is in the back row, a nervous look on his face.

The kids start singing, and yep, Papyrus's voice is... Well, Sans likes it. His brother sure is loud, one of the byproducts of his uppercase font. Some of the kids near Papyrus are looking at him with disdain.

As Papyrus sings, his eyes scan the room. They lock onto Sans, and that nervous expression turns into a glare. He can't believe Sans pushed him to do this. Sans thinks it's kind of funny, that angry expression while his brother is singing a sweet little Gyftmas carol. He makes sure to snap a picture of it.

Eventually Papyrus looks away, and his expression turns into one of joy. It's fake, it's so very obviously fake, but he'll get better at it, Sans is sure.

Why, by the time his brother is an adult, he'll be the best at confidence and happiness. Sans can feel it in his bones.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I got the idea for this while listening to a Christmas carol. I got the image of Papyrus singing it while glaring at Sans stuck in my head, so I made a little story for it.


End file.
